The Podemos candidate for the general elections, Irene Montero, has placed real estate speculators and the governments that allow their businesses at the center of the general strike called for this Wednesday. One day before the mobilization for housing and labor rights, the former Minister of Equality has defended the protest as a tool to achieve improvements and has criticized the rejection by the PP and Vox.
"This strike is against speculators, against landlords, against all those who are doing business with housing," she stated this Tuesday to the media, after a meeting with environmental organizations and the coordinator of Alianza Verde, Juantxo López de Uralde.
Montero also pointed to the administrations that, in her opinion, have allowed investment funds to operate without the necessary limits. "You can't cover the sun with a finger. This strike is against those responsible for a serious housing crisis that is hitting the lives of the vast majority of citizens," she maintained.
Montero vindicates 11N against attacks from the PP and the far-right Vox
The candidate has demanded lower rental prices, prohibit real estate speculation, and end the business of tourist apartments. Her criticism included the coalition government, which she reproaches for having resorted to tax benefits for owners and a housing website without adopting sufficient measures to curb prices.
Tomorrow's strike is supported by Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), the Unión General de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores (UGT), the Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas, and other organizations. In addition to access to affordable housing, the organizers demand wage improvements, advances in collective bargaining, and more labor rights.
Montero responded to the criticisms from the PP and Vox with a comparison about labor achievements. In her opinion, both parties would have defended "slave owners" and employers who employed children, while now they benefit from rights achieved thanks to mobilization, such as the eight-hour workday. "The strike is an instrument they don't like," she assured.
The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, asked unions last week to reconsider the call after the Urda railway accident. The unions refused to cancel it. Montero has defended that "the strike is a constitutional right" and has vindicated the improvements achieved by previous generations of workers.
Criticism of Abascal in 'La Revuelta' and a proposal against major polluters
The Podemos candidate also referred to Santiago Abascal's interview on 'La Revuelta'. She assured that she is concerned that the presenter, David Broncano, is being held responsible for the outcome of the meeting, "even though he didn't do well yesterday", and questioned the decision to bring the Vox leader to the public television program.
"The problem is who decides that the monster must be fed," said Montero, who believes that giving Abascal that space contributes to normalizing his discourse. The candidate argued that those who promote this exposure believe that the growth of the far-right can electorally benefit the PSOE.
In her appearance, Montero also celebrated that the Television Academy will organize the electoral debates and assured that Podemos will participate in the preparatory meeting. The party demands that its candidate be present in the debate between the main aspirants; the format and participants are still pending confirmation.
After meeting with environmental organizations, the candidate proposed a public supermarket to offer fair prices to producers and consumers. She also proposed a progressive tax of up to 15% on the profits from polluting activities of large companies, along with a ban on them receiving subsidies or contracting with public administrations.
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